Tornadoes hit Sicily, Italy, destroying greenhouse crops

Heavy rains and tornadoes hit Sicily, Italy on November 10 and 11, 2017, destroying local greenhouse crops. In addition, some of the farmers had to deal with flooded crops. Severe weather warnings are still in effect for the region. Late autumn is major tornado season in southern Italy.

"We went from extreme drought in summer to the cloudburst that hit part of the S. Croce Camerina a month ago. And the crazy weather is continuing with tornadoes in Acate, Pedalino, Vittoria and part of Randello. Entire greenhouses, growing peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, etc. were hit," Gianfranco Cunsolo from the Ragusa branch of Coldiretti, the leading organization of agricultural entrepreneurs, told Fresh Plaza.

"Coldiretti Ragusa is applying for a state of natural disaster to be declared and is urging all damaged producers to report their situation so we can quantify the areas hit and the economic damage," Cunsolo said.

With the crisis not entirely over yet, those who haven't had the chance to insure their productions against bad weather will probably have to fight hard to stay afloat, Fresh Plaza added.

Autumn is tornado season in southern Italy and the country is one of the European hotspots for tornadoes.

"Squall lines in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas produce tornadoes particularly in late summer and throughout autumn, frequently in setups that also produce damaging flooding," Severe Weather Europe (SWE) meteorologists explained. "The southern part of Italy experiences tornadoes particularly during late autumn, as deeper troughs push far south, while the warm waters of the central and southern Mediterranean frequently provide high to extreme instability."

The threat of severe weather in extreme southern Italy continues today, particularly in parts of Puglia.

Latest articles

Although parts of the northeastern United States have already received record-breaking rainfall this summer, persistent rainfall and flooding are likely to continue. "The weather pattern this summer is one of the most dramatic outbreaks of rain ever to hit...

At least 35 people have been killed and dozens more are feared dead as a huge section of highway bridge collapsed in Italian port city of Genoa during an intense storm on August 14, 2018. The disaster occurred around 09:30 UTC on a highway that connects Italy to...

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit South Sandwich Islands region at 03:29 UTC on August 14, 2018. The agency is reporting a depth of 25 km (21.7 miles). EMSC is reporting Mw6.1 at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles). According to the USGS,...

Flash flood emergency declared in parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey A flash flood emergency was declared for western Bradford County in Pennsylvania on August 13. Numerous residents were rescued from the town of Troy after widespread flooding, TWC reports. The...

Photographer Adrien Mauduit put together a two-minute compilation of his best real-time sequences of the Perseid meteor shower peaking on August 12 - 13, 2018 in the Valais in Switzerland. ​Did you miss it because of weather or personal reasons? Fear not, we got...

The USGS recorded more than 270 earthquakes in Alaska's North Slope on Sunday, August 12 and Monday, August 13, 2018, including M6.4, the most powerful earthquake ever to hit the region. The previous most powerful quake in the North Slope was M5.2 registered in...

Heavy monsoon rains enhanced by Tropical Storm "Yagi," known in the Philippines and Karding, caused deadly floods in the Philippine capital Manila and nearby areas over the past two days. At least 6 people lost their lives, 4 in the capital region and 2...

A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 PD20 flew past Earth at a very close distance of 0.09 LD / 0.00022 AU (33 210 km / 20 636 miles) at 14:31 UTC on August 10, 2018. This near-Earth object belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and its estimated diameter...

Costly hailstorms are rapidly increasing Costly hailstorms are increasing in the United States, with the average year now accumulating $8 to $10 billion in hail damage, Bryan Wood of Capital Weather Gang reports. Additionally, hailstorms account for 70% of the...

A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 hit northern Alaska at 21:15 UTC (13:15 UTC) on August 12, 2018. The agency is reporting a depth of 0.1 km (0.06 miles). EMSC is reporting Mw6.0 at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The epicenter was located...

A strong and very shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit northern Alaska at 14:58 UTC (06:58 local time) on August 12, 2018. The agency is reporting a depth of 9.9 km (6.1 miles). This earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the...

A massive dust, wind and rain storm rolled through Southern Nevada on the evening of August 11, 2018, knocking down trees and power poles, sparking fires and triggering flash flood warnings. More than 60 000 customers were left without power. The National Weather...

Heavy thunderstorms leave parts of NYC underwater Heavy thunderstorms hit parts of the New York City on the morning of August 11, causing power outages and major flooding on the Upper East Side and in the Bronx. An AAA truck driver said he was busy all morning...

India's state of Kerala is on high alert after worst floods in almost 100 years continue taking lives. 8 of Kerala's 14 districts are on high alert as the death toll reached 37, officials said August 11. They described the floods as the worst in almost 100...

Tropical Storm "Yagi," the 14th named storm of the 2018 Pacific typhoon season, is heading toward eastern China and expected to make landfall on August 12, 2018, with maximum sustained winds near 75 km/h (46 mph). China's National Meteorological Center...

The northern hemisphere 2018 noctilucent clouds season is still going strong this August, with four times more NLC reports than in the same period in 2017. "Something unusual is happening in Earth's upper atmosphere," Dr. Tony Phillips of the...

InFocus

In a recent interview with AgWeb, the president and CEO of Hackett Financial Advisors, Shawn Hackett, explains why he thinks our civilization will have to come up with new ways of growing food over the next 5 years. Read more

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…
the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them,
glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things… they
push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are
crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."